President Shares Thanksgiving Meal with Troops
Remarks by the President to Troops and Families at Fort Campbell
Fort Campbell, Kentucky

12:48 P.M. CST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. At
ease. Thank you all very much. Laura and I are
proud, really proud, to be with the men and women of the finest Army in
the whole world. (Applause.) This Thanksgiving,
Americans are especially thankful for our freedom. And we
are especially thankful to you, the people who keep us
free. (Applause.)

I want to thank your General, "Commander Cody" --
(applause) -- for his hospitality and for his
leadership. I took a good look at him. I'm glad
he's on my side. (Applause.) And I'm glad you are
as well. (Applause.) I want to thank General
Ellis. General Ellis has got a huge job. We've
called upon a good man to accomplish that job.

I want to thank Sergeant Major Clifford
West. (Applause.) I want to thank the Governors
from the states represented here at Fort Campbell: Governor Paul
Patton and Governor Don Sundquist from Kentucky and
Tennessee. (Applause.)

I want to thank the Senators who are here with us from the two
states: Senator Mitch McConnell, my good friend. I hope to
see him in D.C. for a lot of years coming. And I want to
thank Jim Bunning. He was telling me he thought my fast
ball, when I threw it at Yankee Stadium, had a little zip on
it. (Applause.) Nothing like his fast
balls. (Laughter.)

I want to thank Senator Fred Thompson and Senator Bill Frist, two
fine United States Senators from
Tennessee. (Applause.) I want to thank
Congressman Ed Bryant from Tennessee for being here as
well. All of these men respect and support the United States
military and they represent the best of our country in the halls of our
Congress.

Congressman Ed Whitfield, who represents this district, wanted to
be here today -- but he's spending the holiday with the U.S. servicemen
and women from Kentucky who are stationed in
Kosovo. (Applause.) They're in our prayers this
Thanksgiving, as are all the troops overseas.

And I want to thank Congressman Whitfield's dad, Mr. E.O.
Whitfield, for coming here in his
stead. (Applause.) Sounds like E.O. brought his
wife. (Laughter and applause.) We're honored to be at the
home of the 101st Airborne. (Applause.) I've got
two words I want to say to you: air
assault. (Applause.) I met some of you all when I
visited Camp Bondsteel in Kosovo, and some of you invited me to your
home. I came, and I'm glad I'm here. (Applause.)

I will always remember this as the day I ate turkey with the
Screaming Eagles. (Applause.) More than 3,000
soldiers from this post have been deployed to Kosovo for six-month
rotations. They kept supplies away from rebels in Macedonia,
made the recent election in Kosovo possible. I'm glad to
report that all of them from this base will be home by Thanksgiving.
(Applause.)

All Americans are especially grateful -- especially grateful -- for
the sacrifice of our military families; the husbands and wives and sons
and daughters, the mothers and dads. Some of you have loved
ones that are deployed, or will be deployed far from home in a war
against terror and evil. And our nation and the world are
counting on your loved ones. They're making us secure and they are
making us proud.

Men and women of Fort Campbell, your country and your President are
proud of you, as well. The 101st Airborne -- the 101st
Airborne is living out its motto. Once again, you have a
rendezvous with destiny. (Applause.) And so does our
country; we're freedom's home and defender. (Applause.) And
today we're the target of freedom's enemies.

Our enemies are evil and they're ruthless. They have no
conscience. They have no mercy. They have killed thousands
of our citizens,and seek to kill many more. They seek to
overthrow friendly governments to force America to retreat from the
world.

They seek weapons of mass destruction. But we're seeking
them. (Applause.) We're fighting them. And one
by one, we're bringing them to
justice. (Applause.) We fight now -- this great
nation fights now -- to save ourselves and our children from living in
a world of fear.

We fight now because we will not permit the terrorists, these
vicious and evil men, to hijack a peaceful religion and to impose their
will on America and the world. We fight now, and we will
keep on fighting until our victory is
complete. (Applause.) We cannot know every turn
this war will take. But I'm confident of the
outcome. I believe in the strong resolve of the American
people. I believe good triumphs over evil. And I
believe in the fearless hearts of the United States
military. (Applause.)

We fight the terrorists and we fight all of those who give them
aid. America has a message for the nations of the world: If
you harbor terrorists, you are
terrorists. (Applause.) If you train or arm a
terrorist, you are a terrorist. (Applause.) If
you feed a terrorist or fund a terrorist, you're a terrorist, and you
will be held accountable by the United States and our
friends. (Applause.)

The Taliban know that. Our military forces and the
forces of our allies and many Afghans seeking a better future, are
liberating Afghanistan. And the Afghan people are
celebrating. Today, 27 of 30 Afghanistan provinces are no
longer under Taliban control. (Applause.) We've got the
Taliban and terrorists' lines of communications, and they're on the
run. (Applause.)

We've made a good start in Afghanistan; yet, there is still a lot
to be done. There are still terrorists on the loose in
Afghanistan, and we will find and destroy their network, piece by
piece. The most difficult steps in this mission still lie
ahead, where enemies hide in sophisticated cave complexes, located in
some of the most mountainous and rugged territory. These
hideouts are heavily fortified and defended by fanatics who will fight
to the death.

Unlike efforts to liberate a town or destroy Taliban equipment,
success against these cells may come more slowly. But we'll
prevail. We'll prevail with a combination of good information,
decisive action, and great military skill. (Applause.)

The enemy -- the enemy hopes they can hide until we
tire. But we're going to prove them wrong. We
will never tire. And we will hunt them
down. (Applause.) The Afghan people deserve a
just and stable government. And we will work with the United Nations
to help them build it. Our diplomats in the region, in
Europe, in New York and in Washington, are in communications with all
parties. We're urging them to move quickly toward a
government that is broadly-based, multi-ethnic, and protects the rights
and dignity of all Afghan citizens, including women.

Winter is coming. And years of drought and Taliban
misrule have placed many Afghans on the brink of
starvation. We will work with the world to bring them food
and medicine. While we fight evil, this great country will
help those who suffer.

Afghanistan is just the beginning on the war against
terror. There are other terrorists who threaten America and
our friends, and there are other nations willing to sponsor
them. We will not be secure as a nation until all of these
threats are defeated. Across the world and across the years,
we will fight these evil ones, and we will win. (Applause.)

Great causes are not easy causes. It was a long way from
Bunker Hill to Yorktown. It was a long way for the 101st
from Normandy to final victory over fascism in Europe. When
wronged, our great nation has always been patient and determined and
relentless. And that's the way we are today. We
have defeated enemies of freedom before. And we will defeat
them again. (Applause.)

And this struggle must be won at home, in our own cities, on our
own soil. A lot of good people -- police officers, FBI
agents, intelligence agents and health officials -- are working hard to
protect Americans from new threats. And Americans are being
vigilant, themselves. No matter what lies ahead, we'll be
alert, we'll be careful and we'll never be
intimidated. (Applause.) We're proud Americans
and we'll live like Americans: we'll travel, we'll build on
our prosperity, we'll live the lives of free people.

Yet, make no mistake about it: wars are not won on the
home front alone. Wars are won by taking the fight to the
enemy. (Applause.) America is not waiting for terrorists to
try to strike us again. Wherever they hide, wherever they
plot, we will strike the terrorists. (Applause.)

This mission will require sacrifice by our men and women in
uniform. America appreciates that sacrifice. And I make a
promise in return: our military will have everything you
need to win in the long battle that lies ahead. You'll have
every resource, every weapon, every possible tool to ensure full
victory for the cause of freedom. (Applause.)

These have been hard months for Americans. Yet, this
Thanksgiving we have so much to be thankful for. We're
thankful for the love of our families. We're thankful for
the goodness and generosity of our fellow citizens. We're
thankful for the freedoms of our country. And we're so very
thankful to you, the men and women who wear our uniform.

Thanks to you, the people of Afghanistan have the hope of a better
life. Thanks to you, many Afghan women are walking in public
again, and walking with dignity. Thanks to you, eight
humanitarian aid workers -- including two Americans -- are free today,
instead of sitting in a Taliban
jail. (Applause.) Thanks to you, every nation is
seeing what will happen if you cast your lot with the
terrorists. (Applause.) Thanks to you, there is
less fear in the world and more freedom, and more hope, and a better
chance for peace.

Every one of you is dedicated to something greater than
yourself. You put your country ahead of your
comfort. You live by a code and you fight for a
cause. And I'm honored to be your
Commander-in-Chief. (Applause.)

AUDIENCE: U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

THE PRESIDENT: I want to thank you all for such a warm
greeting. I want to thank your service to a great nation.

May God bless the men and women who wear our uniform, and may God
bless America. (Applause.)